


Dissembling

by iWantMyDrumfredBack (BornBlue)



Series: Drummond Is Not Dead [4]
Category: Victoria (TV)
Genre: And now EVERYONE is suspicious, But poor boys, Drumfred forever, Edward Drummond Lives, Light Angst, M/M, Not Canon Compliant, They aren't together in this bit, but of course neither of our boys is ever far away from the other in spirit, things on the way to their happy ever after sure won't be easy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-06
Updated: 2018-04-06
Packaged: 2019-04-17 00:43:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,287
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14176875
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BornBlue/pseuds/iWantMyDrumfredBack
Summary: Alfred and Drummond have met in the park, and made a plan, but suspicions abound! How will they get out of all the messes?!





	Dissembling

Alfred barely had time to dress for dinner and line up for the procession behind the Queen. He was hurriedly fastening his cravat and straightening his vest as he rounded the corner into the great hall and nearly collided with the backside of the Duchess herself. Miss Coke was standing to her side, and turned to see him stop suddenly to take his place. He was uncharacteristically out of breath and appeared distracted. 

 

“Lord Alfred, are you quite alright?” Wilhelmina asked, catching the Duchess’ attention. She turned and cast a jaundiced eye in his direction as she addressed him:  “Lord Alfred, you seem rather flushed. Have you been unduly exerting yourself?”

 

“Not at all, Duchess. I simply had business to attend to at the Royal Mews that took longer than expected.”

 

“Oh, the Royal Mews? I would have thought on such a lovely day you might have been riding in some scenic pastoral setting. I'm sure the park was delightful this afternoon.” She fixed him with her eyes. 

 

A shiver went up Alfred’s spine. Dear God, he must be right: she surely had someone spying on him! He felt it would be terribly unwise to either confirm or deny her veiled accusation, so he changed the subject instead, commenting on Wilhelmina’s skills at the piano. “Miss Coke, I so enjoyed our duet this afternoon. You have developed quite a delicate touch on the keys that suits Mozart very well.” 

 

Her cheeks flushed a light crimson. “Why, how kind of you to say, Lord Alfred. I was worried that perhaps my long attention to Chopin had ruined me for other composers.”

 

“Not at all. You have a lightness which I find is quite right for Mozart. So many play with excessive vigor and bombast, but you are quite… sensitive.”

 

The Duchess had been watching all of this with a skeptical eye. “You are a man of many interests, Lord Alfred. No wonder it is quite impossible to pin you down.” 

 

It appeared he had managed to turn the conversation and fill the time until the Queen and Prince took their places to lead the procession for the evening meal. _Dinner has not even begun,_ he thought, _and I’m already quite exhausted._

 

The evening passed with little further drama, but Alfred could not shake the sense of the Duchess’ eyes fixed on him like a hawk's on its prey.

 

____________________________________________________________

 

Meanwhile, Drummond returned to the House in a state of distraction. He was unsettled by Alfred’s story, and hoped work might offer an escape. There was certainly plenty of pressing business to engage him, as the Tories were imploding in the wake of the Corn Laws repeal. It was not a happy situation, but fortunately it involved political negotiation, which was something Drummond felt far more comfortable with than the machinations of personal intrigue and possible scandal. It also kept Sir Robert from dwelling too much on the fact of the broken engagement. 

 

*****

 

He had waited until the last possible moment to tell the prime minister his news, knowing that not only did Peel feel marriage an important step in his secretary’s professional ambitions, but that Florence herself would be the ideal political wife. Drummond had no idea how to explain to him why he had broken it off—and in fact felt obligated to maintain the public story that both parties had decided on the split together. The whole past week had been a busy one for Sir Robert as he tried to keep the party from splintering into different factions, so Drummond had assured himself that he wasn’t procrastinating as much as finding the right moment to tell the prime minister. Not surprisingly, no such opportunity had presented itself, so this morning he decided he simply had to tell Sir Robert anyway, before the papers came out with the announcement. 

 

“But why on earth? Was this your doing, or Florence’s?” Peel had been bent over papers at his desk, but once he heard Drummond’s news, he snapped off his reading glasses and looked hard at Drummond, who stood across the desk hoping the floor might suddenly open and swallow him whole. It felt like Peel’s eyes were boring holes in his head, which was starting to ache with tension.

 

“It was mutual, sir. We simply discovered over the course of many conversations that we were unsuited to one another,” Drummond hated to lie, but in this case he truly felt he had no choice.

 

“So, you both just… came to the same conclusion at the same time? I find that extraordinary. Not that I'm questioning your truthfulness, Drummond, but this may be the strangest thing I’ve ever heard. And you say it’s going to be in the paper? As an announcement? Today?"

 

“Yes, sir. I thought you should know before you might hear others discussing it.” Drummond found it very difficult to look Sir Robert in the face at the moment and kept averting his eyes. _Do I look as guilty as I feel?_

 

“Well, I’m grateful for that, but I find this very odd, and frankly unfortunate. Florence would have been a great help in your career, you know. She has a title, wealth, connections, and she--like her family--is well-known and liked. I hope there’s not more you aren’t telling that would reflect poorly on you; you know, a personal scandal is the last thing you want.”

 

“I know, sir, and I assure you there’s nothing scandalous. The decision was mutual, and indeed amicable. We parted as friends.” Drummond felt awfully warm standing in the middle of the office, and the pain in his head had started to throb with great insistence.

 

Sir Robert put his glasses back on and turned to his papers. “You young people. I’ll never understand any of you. I suppose I should thank you for letting me know.” And with that, he had waved Drummond off. 

 

*****

By the time Alfred’s note had arrived, Drummond had felt like his head was caught in a vice grip, between the tense conversation with Sir Robert, odd whispers behind his back, and a few of the bolder clerks who asked him outright why on earth his engagement was off. He never seemed to have a good enough answer, and always left them looking puzzled and unsatisfied. He just wanted it all put to rest so that he might be left alone. While the tone of Alfred’s note had been rather impersonal, the prospect of seeing him had helped ease the pain in his head and the anxiety each time someone else approached to question him or simply shot a curious glance in his direction.

 

He had found an excuse to leave early in order to clear his head. The pain had dulled quite a bit, and then the sight of Alfred on his horse—so splendid, looking as if he’d been born to equestrian royalty—had erased the last bit of it. But unfortunately, the joy of seeing him had then been tempered by the story of the Duchess’ suspicions and a new worry to carry.

 

******

 

Now he sat at his desk near Sir Robert’s office, trying to focus on a draft document to negotiate conditions for a truce among the warring Tory factions. He had just managed to comprehend a sentence after having read it at least eight times when yet another note was brought to him. _My, but I am popular today,_ he thought with equal parts amusement and trepidation.

 

_Edward—_

 

_Your mother and I are staying at Mivart’s in Grosvenor Square and wish to receive you at your earliest convenience in order to discuss the recent turn of events._

 

_—Father_

 

And suddenly, Drummond’s head began to ache all over again. 


End file.
